


Never fret none

by SaltywithSarcasm



Category: Naruto
Genre: Abusive Parents, Assassination Attempt(s), Brotherly Love, Child Abuse, Childhood Memories, Childhood Trauma, Food Poisoning, Headcanon, Kankuro just really loves his brother okay, Near Death Experiences, Past Child Abuse, Triggers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-22 21:29:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18535846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaltywithSarcasm/pseuds/SaltywithSarcasm
Summary: Kankuro remembers feeling nauseous and being unable to barely move, feeling so dizzy that even moving his head made him feel sick...





	Never fret none

Ichiraku’s ramen shop isn’t very busy tonight thankfully because it wasn’t Kankuro was hungry, he just needs some time to be alone after the conversation he had with his younger brother and their friend Naruto; they didn’t fight or anything, just talking about their childhood and it brought some old memories he nearly forgotten about. 

At least he tried his best to just forget about them and move on.

*Kankuro remembers feeling nauseous and being unable to barely move, feeling so dizzy that even moving his head made him feel sick... *

He excused himself rashly and took off, ending up here in the little ramen shop with a little bowl of ramen that he’s been staring at for the pass couple of minutes. 

“It’s just going to get cold if you stare into it all night.” He hears and doesn’t even need to look at the person sitting down next to him to know it’s the Hokage, the guy must have went after him after he rushed out like that.

“Did Gaara come with you?” Kankuro shifts in his chair and just pushes the bowl over to the blonde, not even remotely hungry. 

“No...he said he wanted to give you some space.” Naruto replies, leaning on the table to look at his face and glances at the sand ninja’s hood that laid forgotten on the table beside him. 

“But you didn’t share the same thoughts he did?” Kankuro scoffs unamused, finally turning to meet the other’s eyes. 

“You were upset by something and I wanted to help.” Naruto shrugs his shoulders with that friendly smile of his, picking up some chopsticks and stirs the ramen in the bowl before returning his attention back to the puppeteer. “What made you run off like that? We were only talking about our childhoods.”

“Do you believe any of us had a childhood worth remembering?” Kankuro asks bitterly, rubbing his head and turns in his seat towards him. “Specially durning the time when our father...”

“Tried to have your brother killed?” Naruto finishes for him, pursing his lips at the thought and realizes it must have been a time his siblings weren’t quite over just yet themselves. “We don’t have to talk about it-“

“It was a long time ago.” Kankuro leans his head against hand and lets out a sigh, listening to the owner work behind the counter. He glances at Naruto again and takes a drink of the tea he ordered. “Though I suppose there’s no point of keeping it a secret anymore.”

“Secret?” Naruto questions, looking concerned. 

“Just don’t tell my brother.” 

“Is it something about him?” Naruto asks and watches the ninja shake his head.

“No, not really; I just don’t want him feeling guilty over it.” Kankuro points at him, giving him a stern look before turning to stare at the table. “Just don’t tell him, alright?”

“Alright...my lips are sealed, man.” Naruto reassures him, slurping noodles from the bowl and pays close attention to the other as he gathers the courage to continue. 

“He said...he didn’t understood why they never tried poisoning him...” Kankuro gives a dry laugh and rolls his eyes like he’s annoyed, leaning against the table, giving another shrug. “They Did; It’s just didn’t work, not in a way that they planned anyway.”

He can still still hear his father shouting at him, the anger in his voice and see the look of disapproval in his eyes.

“Even though they called him a monster and I feared him, he was still my little brother...” Kankuro mutters softly, leaning on his arms to hide his face from the other. “They tried poisoning his food and I overheard them talking about, they would serve our food together but keep his separate...”

*Kankuro pulls his head from the door before the cook could see him spying and watches the man come out with the plates of food to set on the table, giving the child a thoughtful look before heading back into the kitchen.*

“I was really afraid of him but I still loved him, you know?” Kankuro tells Naruto, still unable to to lift his eyes and bites the inner part of his cheek. “I didn’t know if his sand would know to protect him from something it couldn’t see and it didn’t feel right to just sit there, knowing what he would be eating could kill him so...I would switch our plates.”

*Kankuro watches as the cook left the room and waits a couple of moments before turning back to the food on the table, frowning at the horrible thing his father was doing and bites his lips before making a hasty decision; quickly switching his and Gaara’s plate before sitting down at the table where he normally sat as his sister and brother came in for dinner. *

*He glances at his brother’s emotionless face, head hanging low as he brother began to eat and quickly glances away as their caretaker came in to join them; Kankuro turns back the plate in front of him and shallows the growing lump in his thought, hearing their caretaker urging him to eat so they could wash up for bed.*

“I thought I could handle it, I was exposed to poisons all the time since I had to build up an immune system for it.” Kankuro can tell the blonde is staring at the side of his head intensely and brings the tea back up to take another sip, letting out a sigh as he sets it back down with a loud clack. “Unfortunately for me when they realized it wasn’t working as quickly as they wanted, they upped the poison a couple of days later.”

*Everything is spinning and forcing himself up the stairs to their room, practically crawling through the door to his own bed and lays across the top of the blankets with sweat covering his brow, panting so heavily he barely hears footsteps coming into the room, hearing a distorted gasp.*

*He vaguely remembers his sister calling out his name and her shaking his shoulder but he could barely feel it from his convulsing body growing so numb so fast. His throat feels like it closing up and has to fight to breathe, he can hear his sister crying and from out of the corner of his eyes, he sees Gaara standing in the doorway, staring back at them with that emotionless expression.*

“I quit breathing a few minutes later and was rushed to the medical ward, both Temari and Gaara were left back in our room.” Kankuro taps the rim of the glass and peers at Naruto from the corner of his eyes, the other had a horrified look on his face but it was to be expected. “They ended up putting a tube down my throat so I could breathe or something and didn’t know if I was going to make it through the night or not, our caretaker never left my bedside and dad...he didn’t even show his face until the poison was removed from my system a few days later and even then, he chewed me out the moment I gain consciousness again; I guess he figured it all out.”

“And Gaara doesn’t know?” Naruto asks, not feeling so hungry himself anymore and lets out a breath when Kankuro shakes his head. “Oh man...”

“At least they quit poisoning the food all though they kept me separate from Temari and Gaara for a little while.” Kankuro chuckles under his breath. “I guess they thought she’d pull the same thing but as far as I know, she doesn’t know either.”

“You kept this a secret this entire time?” 

“I didn’t see the point of bringing it up since it happened when we were kids.”

“Kankuro...you could have died-“

“But I didn’t.” Kankuro cuts him off and leans back in his chair, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “I’m going to head to bed, I’m beat.”

“A-alright, Night.” Naruto tells him as the puppet user gets up, paying for the uneaten meal and grabs his hood before he heads out, leaving Naruto all alone in the shop to his thoughts. 

“Would you like me to reheat that for you?” He hears Ichiraku ask from behind the counter but he shakes his head. 

“Thanks but I should be heading home myself; Night, old man.” Naruto gives a small smile as he gets up from the chair. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bring your friend back and I’ll give him a new bowl of ramen.” The old man gives a nod as Naruto heads out of the shop, not seeing the other ninja in sight; Must have head back to his and Gaara’s room. 

Naruto can’t believe the man has kept that sort of secret since they were kids and finally understands why he rushed off like he did, he didn’t blame Kankuro, must have triggered something in him but...the way Gaara told him to give his brother some space...

Does Gaara already know?

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are appreciated!
> 
> SaltywithSarcasm.Tumblr.com


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